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The relationship between trustees of pension funds and investment managers has been well recognised in invest mentmanagement practice but studies of trust relationship between them are few. This study explores trustworthiness of investment managers as an important factor for trustees in building and developing trust relationship with the investment managers. Case study research method is used togather and analyse data collected from indepth interviews with the trustees. The major research findings of this study shows that (1) trust is an important factor in the relationship between trustees of pension funds and investment managers; and (2) the key factors of trust worthiness of investment managers are determined by their ability, benevolence, integrity, and openness in communication.

This paper contains a theoretically inspired discussion of recent Norwegian controversies related to the management of public library space as a civil public sphere.

This study engages with theories of civil public spheres and their application within a Nordic context. The theories are applied in discussions of recent controversies related to the management of Norwegian public libraries as civil public spheres, as represented in professional journals and press articles.

Through the discussion, it becomes apparent that the value of neutrality and librarians' inclusive practices on the part of societal minorities might be conflicting when managing public libraries as civil public spheres.

This paper engages with recent library controversies in Norway and discusses them in light of recent scholarly work on library activism in a Nordic context, as well as recent theorizations of civil public spheres in the Nordic countries. It thus connects ongoing discussions among Norwegian librarians with recent library research and ongoing theorization of civil public spheres within the Nordic model.

Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived usability and user characteristics influence the intention to use a crowdsourcing application for finding potentially trafficked children. As part of this effort, the authors also attempt to uncover the usability concerns surrounding the use of this application.

The authors first describe Zhongxun, which is the application used in the present paper. Next, they conducted a survey eliciting usability perceptions of Zhongxun. A total of 287 participants were recruited for the survey which used constructs adapted from the Computer System Usability Questionnaire as well as various demographic variables. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to ascertain factors influencing intention to use Zhongxun. Participants' qualitative feedback was also analyzed to derive themes pertaining to areas of improvement.

The results showed that system usefulness was the factor that most positively influenced intention to use Zhongxun, followed by information quality and interface quality. Interestingly, a higher level of education was negatively associated with intention to use the application. Qualitative feedback suggested various ways of improving Zhongxun's functionality. Participants recommended the incorporation of gamification mechanisms as a new feature of the application. Cultivating awareness of Zhongxun was also suggested as a means to attract new users.

The work can help inform the design of crowdsourcing applications for finding missing and potentially trafficked children, as well as similar systems. Implications include the need for simplicity of design, communication strategies to attract new and retain existing users, and instilling confidence in the quality of crowdsourced contributions.

Prior research in evaluating the usability of crowdsourcing applications has been performed but not in the context of finding missing and potentially trafficked children. The task of finding such children is markedly different from previous usage contexts and could impact perceptions of usability and usefulness. Hence, the present study attempts to plug this research gap.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) carry huge economic importance worldwide. At the same time, SMEs face specific challenges, some of which may be alleviated by employing accountants. However, research on the role and impact of accountants in SMEs has long remained fragmented and scarce. This paper aims to encourage more research on accountants in SMEs by providing the first comprehensive and systematic review of relevant research.

Based on systematic review methods, the authors critically examine 68 research articles dealing with accountants in SMEs.

The review identifies three dominant roles for accountants in SMEs: providers of reporting services, sources of SME owners’ self-validation and translators between capital providers and SMEs and advisors. Implicitly, many studies assume a value-enhancing effect of employing accountants in SMEs regardless of these specific roles. At the same time, available studies seldom make use of existing theoretical frameworks to more closely analyze the value-enhancing potential of human resources such as accountants. The authors, thus, propose the resource-based view as a robust theoretical framework to improve theory building in research on accountants in SMEs.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first systematic review of accountants in SMEs. In addition, the authors develop a resource-based model on accountants in SMEs to guide future research on this topic.

Defines national culture, summarizing and comparing various models of national culture, including single and multiple dimension models, historical‐social models in high and low context and monochronic and polychronic cultures. Discusses their relevance to the study and practice of local and international management, and tabulates the main features of each model.

The purpose of this paper to systematically review and critique research on professional accounting development published in English during the last two-and-a-half decades. This paper focusses on developing countries (DCs) and suggests a future research agenda. In recent decades, many DCs have undergone reforms in the professionalisation of accounting (PA).

Extant research articles are selected from major accounting journals between 1995 and 2020 for the review. A conceptual analysis of the selected literature is presented to evaluate the focus and scope of existing work.

Previous empirical research on DCs has focused on the state and political ideology, religion and Sharia law, racial/class discrimination, colonialism and closure (e.g. the monopolisation of accounting work). Also, a complex set of globalisation, political, economic, and social contexts. In particular, a strong tradition of British accounting associations providing accounting qualifications in DCs is noted. Future research should aim to examine such issues as the politics of decolonisation, domination, neoliberalism, competition from Western professional associations, accounting in state-owned organisations, government accounting reforms, and social and environmental accounting issues.

This paper covers only PA research in high-ranked English language accounting journals and chapters of a monograph. Accounting research published in other languages and lower-ranked journals could be imperative sources as well but not included in this study.

While PA has been explored in a variety of locations and from different perspectives in Western countries, a review in DCs was lacking.

The Social Norms Approach (SNA) is a health behaviour intervention which promotes positive behaviour change by challenging and reducing misperceived social norms of peer behaviours and attitudes. This study reports a novel qualitative evaluation of an in-school SNA intervention which aimed to reduce 11-to-12-year-old students’ unhealthy snacking behaviours by reducing misperceived peer norms.

A qualitative evaluation of seven teachers’ and eighteen students’ experiences of taking part in the SNA intervention based on focus group discussions and an open-ended survey.

An inductive reflexive thematic analysis indicated that the SNA intervention was an effective and engaging means of delivering normative feedback to younger adolescents. The use of a paper-and-pens creative poster-making activity, where students were tasked with designing the intervention materials featuring normative feedback based on their baseline data, encouraged students to discuss and reflect on the discrepancies between their perceived norms and the actual reported unhealthy snacking norms. Challenges were identified with ensuring intervention fidelity and in students’ understanding of how to record survey responses using Likert scales.

This study demonstrates the usefulness of exploring post-intervention perceptions of SNA interventions, particularly from the perspective of the intended recipients. The study also provides useful information for those intending to develop in-school SNA interventions in the future, particularly the importance of involving participants in the designing of intervention materials as a means of promoting engagement with an SNA-based dietary behaviour intervention.

Outlines the ideas incorporated in “development economics” and criticizes the lack of distinction made by some writers between development and economic growth. Asks whether underdeveloped countries really need a different economic theory from Western Europe and suggests that growth (in gross national product) and development (i.e. structural change) are actually complementary processes. Reviews various theories on the causes of underdevelopment (e.g. market failure, government failure) and strategies to cure it (e.g. government intervention, private initiative, market mechanism); and cites some examples of successful positive intervention.

The study aims to explore information behaviour and its potential impact on buyer‐supplier relationships in electronic reverse auction (e‐RA). In spite of the widely assumed benefits of e‐RAs, recent studies have identified negative effects of e‐RAs on buyer‐supplier relationships.

The research is based on nine interviews with automotive buyers and suppliers who use e‐RAs and 15 interviews with automotive companies who do not use e‐RAs. The interviews were analysed using the method of content analysis. The analysis process was supported relying on the qualitative software package Atlas/ti.

Overall, the results indicate that differences in information behaviour may affect buyer‐supplier relationships. Particularly the inadequate treatment of suppliers and the reduced quality of the communication proved to be the major mediating factors for negative outcomes. Also, the use of e‐RAs is believed not to be as widespread as generally assumed.

Considering the limited scope of this research, further investigation of the above topic is required incorporating several sources of data, e.g. as part of a case study approach. Also, the generalisability of the results might be improved by obtaining responses from more buyers and suppliers through a larger scale survey.

The paper suggests that the adequate consideration of context and the careful preparation of the event including strictly equal treatment of all participants and effective communication are key factors for obtaining benefits from e‐RAs.

Considering the limited evidence on how specific characteristics may affect buyer‐seller relations, this research provides a first step in opening up the e‐RA “black box”.